Tuesday Tunes

I went to see My Vitriol last week at Koko in Camden and they were so amazing! I haven't stopped playing their music since, and this song has definitely had the most repeats. I've loved My Vitriol since 1999 and have seen them a few times before, but this time was absolutely the best - they covered Daft Punk's song Get Lucky and one of my favourite songs of all time 'Wicked Game' by Chris Isaaks, and....drum roll.....they announced a new album! This is somewhat of a landmark for them since they've only released 1 proper album and that was in 2000. I am so excited! Onto the music before I burst..............

My Vitriol - This Time

X is for The XX

Intro by The XX

Blood Red Moon by The XX

Crystallised by The XX

W is for Women

We're always being told that women are really bitchy and jealous towards other females, and to a certain extent that is true. However, we also like to celebrate members of our own sex too. I've chosen a few women celebrities that I either admire or are just drawn to or inspired by (and a little envious of too, but in a positive way).

Zooey Deschanel - cute, beautiful, quirky and incredibly talented. She is a contributor to the HelloGiggles blog which is well worth a read, and New Girl is one of my favourite shows too. Might stick on the DVD tonight to cheer myself up.

Lisa Faulkner - winner of Celebrity Masterchef a few years ago and a presenter and actress. She came across as a very friendly, lovely person and a very endearing winner. I need to buy her cookbook when I can afford it.

Sarah Michelle Gellar (well, Buffy Summers) - I don't know much about Sarah herself, so I guess I'm really listing Buffy Summers herself. A strong, beautiful, independent woman. I totally love her. Shame she's not real. Although Sarah is probably just as great. I am halfway through the first and only season of Ringer - shame it was cancelled, I think it's great. 

Who are your favourite female celebrities? 

V is for Very Special Day

Today is World Penguin Day!! 

To celebrate I thought I'd share a very special penguin with you all. Here he is reminiscing about the olden days. You can see him in pride of place in the photo. That little lady looking after him is my mum, which makes penguin nearly 70 years old. 

These days he takes life a bit easier. He lives in my dressing table and makes me smile every time I open the doors.

U is for Umbrellas

A few years ago I splashed out (pardon the pun) on a great umbrella that wouldn't blow inside out. It isn't the  prettiest umbrella in the world but it does hold up in the wind so I can actually use it. It is the Senz Compact and was around £40 I think. In fact, I think it was a present from my wishlist. I thoroughly recommend it if you're fed up with your own umbrella.

Now, I do like funky umbrellas too, and I also have a duck umbrella (although I haven't used it in public yet) and a summer parasol (we just need a sunny summer).

I've found these other cute umbrellas online from BrolliesGalore.co.uk and I might even be tempted to get one when I have some spare cash.

T is for Television

I do like my TV. And I don't just mean the actual machine (although that is pretty cool - who'd've thought TVs could be Smart?). I like to think I choose my programmes carefully, but I do end up watching a load of rubbish too. Although digital recorders and Netflix have changed that a bit. Netflix has been great for watching whole programmes obsessively right from season 1, even if I hadn't watched them at the time they came out. I record quite a few shows to watch at my convenience too.

My top favourite shows of the moment:

1. The Mentalist - I loooove Patrick Jane and his memory palace. It can be quite a dark show but whenever Patrick smiles it is so infectious (Simon Baker just has one of those smiles). Agent Cho has some great one-liners too. The over-arcing storyline of serial killer Red John has kept me wondering exactly who to trust and who is on the dark side - fabulous stuff.

2. Person of Interest - I wasn't hooked by season 1, but season 2 has been brilliant. I've really warmed to John Reese and Harold Finch, and I feel pretty sorry for old Lionel too. Really captivating stories each week, with hints at the back story coming out too which leaves you speculating exactly went on before we met them. 

3. Sons of Anarchy - I'm a latecomer to this one and might still go back and watch every episode from the beginning as I only saw bits and pieces of the early ones. I've got pretty hooked on it now though. It's weird seeing Charlie Hunnam as a gangleader though - I remember him as a young gay teenager in Queer As Folk! He certainly is playing a very different role now. My favourite character is probably Chibs, but I feel pretty sorry for Nero - he's lost his club, his car, loads of money and his sister since he met the gang.

4. Snog, Marry, Avoid - yes, I realise this doesn't sit comfortably with the rest of the list so far, but I do love it for a laugh. Ellie Taylor, the new presenter, is very likeable and keeps it funny. The amount of fakery some people wear on themselves really is unbelievable.

5. The Ricky Gervais Show - these are repeating on E4 in the middle of the night. Even though they are cartoon based on the original podcasts which I've listened to soooo many times before, I still sit there in hysterics every time. Have I told you how much I love Karl Pilkington? He is hilarious. Worryingly, we often think the same things - I just keep them to myself!

6. The X Files - we are currently working our way through them on Netflix, and on season 4 at the moment. I think this is about where I gave up originally. I remember watching the pilot on TV in 1994 and thinking it was the coolest show ever. I had loads of the trading cards, and the glow in the dark 'X' clock. (And I made the masking tape 'X' on my window too). Eugene Tooms was the scariest villain, and the inbreeding family were the most disturbing.

7. Doctors - I'm still loving this daytime soap opera that I've blogged about before. It isn't particularly high quality drama and the storylines aren't very realistic, but the characters are great and there is plenty going on to enjoy. Zara is my feisty favourite character (go on, get back with Daniel), and I've a little crush on Kevin Tyler. The Harrison killer episodes were the best but it has really had some great storylines this past year too. Shame a few of my favourites have left the show though.

I'm off to catch up on some of these right now..................

S is for Sunflare

This year so far has been extremely rubbish weather-wise, so it has been great, and somewhat weird, to see the sun over the last week. Of course it is due to disappear again by the weekend, so best to make the most if it. I've been trying to get some sunflare shots which have proven harder than I thought, but that's more to do with the angles and trees in my garden I hope.

R is for Rock

When people ask me what type of music I like I usually answer rock. I like all sorts of different types of music, but rock is the main genre. Or so I thought. From my answer I think a lot of people probably imagine that I like Metallica, AC/DC or The Who. But I don't. So I looked up some of my favourite 'rock' artists on Wikipedia to see how they were actually defined. I didn't realise how many genres and sub-genres of rock there were! Apparently I like a bit of rock and roll, some psychedelic rock, lots of alternative rock, a little Britpop, post grunge and post punk, rap rock, nu metal, post-Britpop, emo, garage rock and digital electronic rock. Wow.

Here are a couple of my alternative rock (or is that post-Britpop)  favourites to get you through the day.

Feeder - Insomnia

My Vitriol - Grounded

Q is for Queen Amidala

My favourite character from Star Wars is R2D2 (obviously - since he is the saviour of everyone time and time again), but if I were to go to a Star Wars fancy dress party I would go as Queen Amidala. I loved the outfit and lipstick from the film:

You can actually buy the official fancy dress outfit (this is so great):

And the headress:

I did share my urge to buy the Queen Amidala Lego Star Wars minifigure on my L post the other day, but I think she is worth showing off again. Priced at £32.95 from FireStar Toys means that she will be staying on my wishlist for some time to come. 

Then I got to wondering what else is out there............(click on the pictures for the links).........

If you spot any others, please let me know - I might start a Pinterest board!

P is for Photography Challenge

I decided to do a 30 day photography challenge this month, with it being a 30 day month and all, and I finally settled on this one:

I am a little behind on processing the shots, but I'm up to date with taking them each day. A few were a bit tricky. These are a few of my favourites......

From a high angle.....

From a low angle......

Something Blue......

Apologies for the lack of words today.